Air cooling apparatus



k. EA wHlTLocK 2,167,380

'AIR cooLING APPARATUS Filed April 8, 1937 3 sheets-sheet 1 July 25, 1939. j

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July`25, 1939. K. E. w|-||T| OCK 2,167,380

AIR COOLING APPARATUS Filed April 8, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ullllll INVENTOR. /fenneh Z'. Whiiock ATTORNEY` July 25, 1939. v K E W|||T| OCK 2,167,380

l AIR COOLING APPARATUS Filed April 8, 1957 5 sheets-sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Patented-July 25,1939

AIR- COOLING APPARATUS Kenneth E. Whitlock, Detroit, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Refrigerated Airconditioning' Corporation, a proposed corporation of Michigan Application April 8, 1937, Serial No. 135,767

2 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to a device for cooling air, and it has to doespecially with a device more or less of a portable nature which can be puring. Such mechanism is expensive and entails l considerable work at the time of installation. It is believed that the accepted definition of the term air conditioning means an apparatus which will not only temper the, air as by cooling, but which also humidiles the air and cleans the same. The invention, however, in its present form aims only to cool the air, and such humidifying or dehumidifying of the air and cleaning which may occur in its operation, 'in the form of device shown in the accompanying drawings, may be considered as incidental. The cooling apparatus, may, however, be used in conjunction with humidifying and cleaning means.

The general objects of the invention are to provide an apparatus which may be compactly assembled in a cabinet and merely brought into-a room, electrically connected with the wiring 'system, and set into operation. No installation work is necessary. A further object is the provision of a device which may be cheaply manufactured and offered to the public at a low cost, and which, by reason of its construction, has an` improved operating emciency. In considering the efficiency Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cabinet I with the structure therein and located in the corner of a room.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially on line 2--2 through an air exhaust conduit which may be used.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 3--3 of Figs. 1 and 5. A L

Fig. 4 is a perspective view with portions cut ya fan portion on both sides of an intermediate (Cl. (i2-129) away and some portions in section looking into the cabinet.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view partly in section taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on 5 line 6-6 of Fig. 5. f The mechanism may be mounted in a cabinet I of any suitable design and the mechanism takes the form of a mechanical cooling apparatus which embodies a refrigeratlng medium. The 10 compressed 'refrigerant is condensed by an air cooled unit and the heated air is discharged through a conduit 2 which preferably leads outside the room. The conduit may be of a fabric tubular structure 3 with a helical coil 4 of metal l5 therein so thatv the structure may be lengthened and shortened within certain limits with an accordion action. The cabinet is provided with a tubular outlet' extension 5 to which one end of the conduit may be secured as by means of a clamp 6, and the other end may be secured to a tubular sleeve 1 as by means of a clamp 8. The tubular sleeve 'l may be mounted by the means oi a gasket 9 to a panel I0. This panel I0 is preferably associated with another panel Il, the panels being slidable relative to each other for tting Windows of various widths. When the panels are placed in the window opening, the window frame, as illustrated at I2, may be lowered upon the top of the panels to close the opening. 30

As illustrated in Fig. 5 the cabinet has an outlet opening for cool air preferably equipped with a suitable grill l5 and an inlet on its back side preferably covered by a screen or grill I6. The 'cabinet may have a considerable part of its back wall of screen or grill structure as illustrated at l1, this grill structure being of such extent as to permit air to pass over some operating mechanism as will presently appear. The cabinet may have another grilled opening as at I8, although 40 this is optional. l

Mounted in the cabinet in a substantially centralized position is a motor 20, the shaft of which is illustrated at 2l, and which projects from both sides of the motor housing. A so-called blower 45 type of fan is-mounted upon each end of the shaft. This blower type of fan is generally called a Sirocco fan and is of the centrifugal type, in that air enters axially, and is forced out in a radial direction. These fans are preferably of 0 double construction. One fan, as illustrated at 22, has fan blades on both sides of an intermediate partition 23. 'Ihe other fan 2llhas blades or partition 25.

the motor shaft and the compressor shaft. The

outletl conduit for compressed refrigerant is illustrated at 28 and it leads to a condenser 29 here shown as made up of a plurality of runs or coils of nned tubing. From the compressor the refrigerant passes through a conduit 30 to a receiver tank 3l and then through a suit le strainer 32. From the strainer 32 refrigerant passes through aconduit 33 to a control device 34 which may be a chamber containing a iioat valve for controlling the flow of refrigerant into a pipe line 35 leading to an evaporating unit or cooling unit 36. This cooling unit is here shown as comprising a plurality of runs or coils of finned tubing. From the evaporator the refrigerant runs through a vpipe line 31 to the compressor.

It Will be" understood by those skilled in the refrigeration art that-a suitable amount of refrigerant is contained in this system and it is passed in a circuitous path wherein it is compressed by the compressor 26, condensed into liquid form by'the condenser 29,'is passed toy the evaporator 36 in a controlled manner by the float valve 34 or other control, where the refrlgerant evaporates and extracts heat from the air surrounding the same, and then in gaseous form is returned to the compressor to lie again compressed. This entire'structure is driven by the motor as are also the Sirocco fans.

The cabinet is equipped with a. passagewayv extending substantially from the air inlet I 6 to the outlet I5. This may be in the nature of a sheet metal flue 40 in which the evaporator, or

, at least the major portion thereof, is located.

At the location of the fan 22 the walls of the passageway are formed outwardly as illustrated at 4I and 42. ing or housing 43 (Fig. 3) and the outward formation of the walls 40 permits the air to divide into two streams and enter the fan from Aopposite sides as illustrated by the arrows in Fig. 5. 'I'he shell 43 is open at the side of the fan adjacent the outlet I5 so that the air is blown outwardly by the fan. Suitable insulation 44 and 45 may be used around the unit which cools the air.

The fan 24 is likewise partially surrounded by a shell 5I] (Fig. 6) and the condenser unit 29' may be located ina passageway provided by walls of sheet metal or the like as illustrated at 5I. The walls 5| terminate short of the axis of the fan as illustrated in Fig. 6, and in 'cooperation with the shell 50, provide air passageways 52 for the entrance of air into the fan from opposite sides thereof.v Thefan 24 forces air across the condenser and through the conduit 2 winch may lead to the outside of the room, either outside the building or elsewhere.

of the cabinet and some through the grill I8. Some of this air passes over the condenser and motor as illustrated. This air is air at room temperatureand in passing over the condenser and motor serves to .cool the same. The heating of the air in this mannerdoes not interfere with the operation of the unit, as this air is discharged through the conduit 2.

In the operation of the device the evaporator 36 is cooled and the fan 32 draws air across the evaporator, in which action this air is cooled and discharged into the room.` At the same time the heated compressed refrigerant is condensed The fan is surrounded by a cas- 'I'he replacing air Amay enter through the grill work I1 at the rear because the fan 24 'causes a flow of air across the same, which air, being heated by this action', is discharged through the outlet conduit. 'Ihe supply of air which the fan 24 draws upon, or atleast some ofthe supply of air. serves also to cool the condenser and motor and this air is used for this purpose .beforeit has been further heated by the condenser 29.

Ithas been found thatva structure built in accordance with this disclosure is particularly eincient and has a greater volume and more cooling capacity than a number of other units which have been comparatively tested. The arrangement of the fans 'is a factor aiding in this eiliciency, as fansl of this type are'effective for producing a considerable Avolume in the iow of air.' 'I'he centralized location of the motor and other mechanism facilitates assembly and structure, balances the weight-in the cabinet and, provides an expedient arrangement-for a single s motor to drive the two fans and compressor. The

feet per minute at 1725 R. P. M.; whereas the cold air fan had a diameter of 4%" witha capacity of 490 cubic feet per minute at 1725 R. P. M. It may be diiiicult to explain just why this feature aids in the eiiiciency of the machine. but it appears that by this arrangement the exhaust fan tends lto exhaust more air than the cold air fan tends to discharge, with the result that there is no back pressure or back 4load on the cold air fan. This is, of course, a matter of theory subject to change, and. other theories may be advanced without, however, escaping from the scope ofthe invention. Due to the fact that the exhaust tube can be extended or shortened within certain limits some iiexibility is provided for the location of theunit in a room.

I claim:

1. An air cooling and Ventilating apparatus comprising in combination, acabinet, a motor having a shaft and positioned substantially centrally of the cabinet, an air passageway adjacent one end of the cabinet having an inlet at the back of the cabinet and an outlet at the front, refrigcabinet, said cabinet having air inlet means,`

some of which are located in the back wall so that a'ir may pass therethrough over the condenser and motor and into the open end of the second mentioned passageway, the shaft of said motor projecting to opposite sides thereof, and a double blower type fan on each end of the shaft, one for moving a current lof airy over the evaporator in the rst mentioned passageway and for discharging said air into a room and the other formoving a current of air through the second an alr inlet adjacent the front of the cabinet and an outlet extending through the back of the cabinet and adapted to extend outside the room, the cabinet having walls formed for the passage of roomA air into the same and into the said inlet for the passageway, partition walls adjacent the opposite end of the cabinethaving an air inlet through the 'back wall oi' the cabinet and an air outlet through the front wall of the cabinet, re- Irigeratingmechanism including a compressor located in the intermediate part ot the cabinet between the two passageways. a condenser in the rst mentioned passageway and an evaporator in the second mentioned passageway, an electric motor positioned in the intermediate zone of the cabinet between the two passageways adjacent one outside Wall of the cabinet and adjacent the compressor, a shaft extending through the motor and having its ends projecting into the two passageways, a blower fan on each end of the shaft, one located in one passageway and one located inthe other for exhausting room air through the rst mentioned. passageway and for circulating room air through the second mentioned passageway, and means operatively connecting the motor to the compressor for operating the same. 

